Tuesday’s Nations League results brought another piece of good news to theItaly by Luciano Spalletti: after Spain’s arithmetic qualification to the Nations League quarter-finals, the Azzurri are now mathematically certain of being among the top seeds for the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The regulations establish that the 55 selections will be divided into 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams each with the matches to be played between March and November 2025.
The seeded teams in the draw will be the 8 national teams that have qualified for the Nations League quarter-finals and the 4 with the best FIFA ranking. In this ranking, Italy is 10th with 26 points ahead of Croatia, behind France 2nd, Spain 3rd, England 4th, Belgium 6th, Holland 7th and Portugal 8th. Even if they were to finish third in their group, the Azzurri would still be seeded due to the Ranking thanks to La Roja, already sure of being so.
The qualifying matches, including playoffs, will end in March 2026 and to access the World Cup you will need to finish first in your group. The 12 runners-up and the 4 best teams from the following Nations League will compete for the other 4 places in a playoff. Good news therefore after the last disappointing European Championship.